TY - JOUR
T1 - Organic coating on biochar explains its nutrient retention and stimulation of soil fertility
AU - Hagemann, Nikolas
AU - Joseph, Stephen
AU - Schmidt, Hans Peter
AU - Kammann, C.I.
AU - Harter, Johannes
AU - Broch, Thomas
AU - Young, Robert
AU - Varga, Krisztina
AU - Taherymoosavi, Sarasadat
AU - Elliott, K. Wade
AU - McKenna, Amy
AU - Albu, Mihaela
AU - Mayrhofer, Claudia
AU - Obst, Martin
AU - Conte, Pellegrino
AU - Dieguez-Alonso, Alba
AU - Orsetti, Silvia
AU - Subdiaga, Edisson
AU - Behrens, Sebastian
AU - Kappler, Andreas
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Amending soil with biochar (pyrolized biomass) is suggested as a globally applicable approach to address climate change and soil degradation by carbon sequestration, reducing soil-borne greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing soil nutrient retention. Biochar was shown to promote plant growth, especially when combined with nutrient-rich organic matter, e.g., co-composted biochar. Plant growth promotion was explained by slow release of nutrients, although a mechanistic understanding of nutrient storage in biochar is missing. Here we identify a complex, nutrient-rich organic coating on co-composted biochar that covers the outer and inner (pore) surfaces of biochar particles using high-resolution spectro(micro)scopy and mass spectrometry. Fast field cycling nuclear magnetic resonance, electrochemical analysis and gas adsorption demonstrated that this coating adds hydrophilicity, redox-active moieties, and additional mesoporosity, which strengthens biochar-water interactions and thus enhances nutrient retention. This implies that the functioning of biochar in soil is determined by the formation of an organic coating, rather than biochar surface oxidation, as previously suggested
AB - Amending soil with biochar (pyrolized biomass) is suggested as a globally applicable approach to address climate change and soil degradation by carbon sequestration, reducing soil-borne greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing soil nutrient retention. Biochar was shown to promote plant growth, especially when combined with nutrient-rich organic matter, e.g., co-composted biochar. Plant growth promotion was explained by slow release of nutrients, although a mechanistic understanding of nutrient storage in biochar is missing. Here we identify a complex, nutrient-rich organic coating on co-composted biochar that covers the outer and inner (pore) surfaces of biochar particles using high-resolution spectro(micro)scopy and mass spectrometry. Fast field cycling nuclear magnetic resonance, electrochemical analysis and gas adsorption demonstrated that this coating adds hydrophilicity, redox-active moieties, and additional mesoporosity, which strengthens biochar-water interactions and thus enhances nutrient retention. This implies that the functioning of biochar in soil is determined by the formation of an organic coating, rather than biochar surface oxidation, as previously suggested
U2 - DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01123-0
DO - DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01123-0
M3 - Article
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 1089
ER -